Leaking showers and bathroom waterproofing, North Shore
Shower leaking into the next room, or the ceiling below?
A damp wall outside the bathroom, paint bubbling, skirting boards swelling, or a stain on the ceiling underneath. We find where the water is getting out before anyone lifts a tile, then tell you straight whether it needs a reseal or a rebuild.
- Leak found before anything is lifted
- Done to AS 3740, wet area waterproofing
- Licenced waterproofers and plumbers
Sound familiar?
- "The wall outside the shower is damp, and the paint's bubbling." Water is getting past the tiles and into the wall. The membrane behind them has failed, or was never there.
- "There's a stain on the ceiling under the bathroom." In a two-storey house or an apartment, the floor of the shower is leaking into the room below.
- "The grout's cracked and the mould keeps coming back." Sometimes that is all it is, and a reseal fixes it. Sometimes it is the first sign of a bigger leak.
- "We had it regrouted, and it's still leaking." Grout is not waterproof. If the membrane underneath has gone, new grout only hides it for a while.
What happens if you leave it
A leaking shower does not stay in the shower. It soaks the timber floor and the wall frame, rots the skirting boards in the next room and grows mould behind the tiles, and it does it quietly for years before anyone sees it.
The longer it runs, the more there is to fix when the tiles finally come up.
How it goes
Found, priced, fixed, tested
- Book a site visit. Usually within a few days. If water is coming through a ceiling, ring us and we will come sooner.
- We find where it is getting out. A moisture meter on the walls and floor, and the shower, the taps and the waste tested one at a time, so we know whether it is the membrane, the grout, the waste or a pipe.
- You get the price. A reseal if the leak is limited, a rebuild if the membrane has failed, with the reasons for each. You decide.
- We fix it and prove it. A rebuilt shower is flood tested before the tiles go back on, so the membrane is proved before it is covered.
One of our jobs
A leaking shower, rebuilt from the membrane up
Reseal it or rebuild it? A straight answer
Neither is always right. We find where the water is getting out first, then tell you which one your shower needs.
Reseal
The grout raked out and replaced with epoxy grout, and the joints resealed, without lifting the tiles. Done in days. The answer when the membrane is sound and the water is getting through the grout and joints.
Rebuild
Tiles up, a new membrane done to AS 3740, flood tested, then retiled. The permanent answer when the membrane has failed, was put on in the wrong order, or was never there. Usually part of a bathroom renovation or a shower rebuild.
Before you book
What people ask us
What will it cost?
It depends on whether it is a reseal or a rebuild, and on what is under the tiles. You get the price before any work starts. Upfront pricing, agreed before we start.
Will I lose the whole bathroom?
Not always. If a reseal will fix it, the tiles stay. If the membrane has to be redone, the shower area comes up, and we tell you how far it goes before we start.
Is it a plumber or a waterproofer?
Both, which is why leaks get passed around. A leaking waste or pipe is plumbing; a failed membrane is waterproofing. We are licenced for both, so it does not fall between two trades.
What about the damage outside the bathroom?
We show you what the water has done to the wall, the floor and the skirting, and price making it good with the fix. Photos and the cause in writing if you are making an insurance claim.
Why it fails
- The membrane put on in the wrong order, or after the finishes
- The wrong product for the job
- Not enough time left for it to cure
- Not taken to the right height or the right areas
- Left out altogether
Why it has to be done properly
In NSW, waterproofing is treated as a major element of a building, so a failure is a major defect, not a cosmetic one. It is also work that must be done by someone licenced for it.
We work to Australian Standard AS 3740, the standard for waterproofing domestic wet areas, which covers laundries as well as bathrooms.
Showers on the North Shore since 2007
Our job records run from 2016. Since then we have done more than 700 jobs on leaking showers, from a reseal to a full rebuild. Licenced waterproofers and plumbers, contractor licence 227192C.
From our Google reviews
He always has the solutions to plumbing issues and leaks.
Bridget Knox, Google reviewAppreciated the plumber calling whilst on site to provide a full assessment of what needed to be done. Job was done quickly after my initial contact.
Lisa M., Google reviewThe final price was exactly what he quoted. We will definitely use them again, highly recommended.
Glenn Crouch, Google reviewShower leaking? Book a site visit.
We find where the water is getting out and price the fix before we start.
From our blog
Worth a read
Waterproofing bathrooms: Australian Standards
What the standard asks for in a shower and a bathroom floor, and why.
Read itHow to waterproof a bathroom
The products, the order and the mistakes that make a membrane fail.
Read itFixing a bathroom leak that kept coming back
One North Shore job, from finding the source to keeping it fixed.
Read itCommon questions about bathroom waterproofing
How do I know my bathroom waterproofing has failed?
Water appearing under or outside the shower, damp or bubbling paint on the wall the other side, mould that keeps coming back however often you clean it, a squelch or movement underfoot in the floor tiles, or a smell that will not shift. None of those get better on their own.
Why does waterproofing fail?
Almost always because of how it was done, not because it wore out. The membrane was put on in the wrong order, or not taken far enough up the wall, or not properly bonded at the junctions, or the falls send water the wrong way. Corners and the join between wall and floor are where it usually lets go.
Can I waterproof a bathroom myself?
No. In New South Wales waterproofing has to be done by someone licenced to do it. There were enough failures that the rules were tightened, which is a fair sign of how often it goes wrong. We hold that licence and work to AS 3740.
What are the options for fixing it?
Broadly two. Take the bathroom up and do the waterproofing again properly, which is the permanent answer. Or, where the failure is limited, an epoxy treatment over the existing tiles that seals the surface. We will tell you honestly which one your bathroom needs, because the second is much cheaper and does not suit every case.
Do I have to retile the whole bathroom?
If the membrane has to be redone, yes, the tiles come up. That is why we look properly first rather than assume, and why the epoxy option is worth checking before committing to the full job.
How long does it take?
A reseal is a matter of days. A full rectification depends on the size of the room and what is found underneath, and we give you the programme before we start.
Is the work warranted?
There are two warranties on most jobs and they are not the same length. The workmanship is ours and we stand behind it: if something is not right after we have left, ring us and we come back and put it right at our cost. The product warranty comes from whoever made the material, and that varies a great deal depending on what goes in. Because the two differ job to job, we set both out in your quote rather than advertise one number that would be wrong half the time.
Are you licenced?
Yes. We are licenced waterproofers as well as licenced plumbers, under NSW licence 227192C. Knowing where water goes is the whole job.
Word gets around
Neighbours telling neighbours. Give us a call and spread the word.
Water where it should not be?
Book a site visit and we will find where it is coming from before anyone lifts a tile. If it is coming through a ceiling now, ring us.
Office hours: Monday to Friday, 7am to 5pm.
A photo of the shower and the damp wall or ceiling helps us see it before we arrive.